Trekking days and fun memories...(not a funny post, but you know me, couldn't resist...)

Kochi is getting hot again...no rains for two days. Guess, this is really affecting my mood. So, to cheer myself up I thought I would write in:)
Actually I was asking Upair to take me out the other day. And he told me that there are no places to see in Kochi...yeah, right ! All those tourists who come here, might be here just because of the fame Ida and Upair bring to this city, 'coz there is nothing else to see!
So, I went and searched the net and gave him a list of places that are there in and around Kochi... and his reaction:? Well, these places are just over-hyped...
But at least we did go to Athirampally, so I'll quit complaining, for the time being...
I really used have a fun time when I was doing my post graduation in Pune. We would have classes from 9 to 9 and have every Thursday off and on Thursdays we had to do compulsory NGO work.... so wondering what could be so great about such a life, eh?
Actually so am I...stupid me...that was not the part of my life that I wanted to write about...what was great was that our class as a whole would go off on these treks:
Panchgani: We had gone there for a "Moral Re-armament Camp"...not that there was anything wrong with us morally (wink, wink)(winking some more in case you thought that the previous winks meant that we were morally all perfect) . We had the most wonderful time…we had to get up at five everyday…in the cold, rainy season, which is not so great. But misery loves company and since all of us were getting up, it was a pleasure. We explored the area, meditated, spent time with ourselves, wrote diaries and of course, because thekochiblogger is writing this, you have to expect this, gorged down amazingly tasty food…ah! Heaven!

Lonavala: We’d been trekking there and when we went there it rained, rained and rained some more. So, all I really remember is lots of fog, water and vada-paav and hot tea. Everything else is as slushy as the ground must have been….But I do remember the joy it brought(yes, vada-paav, of course, but not only that, c’mon, gimme some credit, I really loved the feel the exercise brought too! Nowadays whenever I feel like exercising, I just recollect the amount of effort I put in there…I think that was enough for a life-time: )) and feel 21 again!

Khandala: With all the hype “Aati kya Khandala”(Hindi movie song, starring Aamir Khan and Rani Mukherjee and those who don’t know this song will not understand the hype, so what is the point explaining it to you, anyway?) gave it, you would have expected me to go there…but I didn’t. We just stopped there on our way to some place…those days we used to go trekking to so many places that I forget exactly where we were going, but we did have hot chocolate fudge in Khandala and that is a memory worth treasuring.
Singhagad(not sure about the spelling…): The most imposing fort ever…truly, it was breathtaking. We had this looooooong climb up and kept cribbing all the way but when we reached up and looked down…wow! The astounding view was more than enough to make any effort worth it.

Hanuman Tekdi(again, spelling, uncertain-oops): Not to be confused with Thekkady in Kerala, which though beautiful, is nowhere near Pune, so why would anyone ever confuse it?…but that is how thekochiblogger operates…I see to it that you have a complete, confusion-free description of everything…ok, you can thank me later…ok, you can thank me now, if you so insist….but let me come back to Hanuman Tekdi which is this smaaal hill near Pune…it was our way to get out of the city, fast. Whenever we had a free hour, we would head that way…. the sight, must be seen to be believed…

Ah, those were the only times when life allowed me to trek…Miss the Maharashtra hills (or mountains…or whatever those elevated places are called…) Somewhere in these places I tasted strawberries and cream for the first time, had the hugest bread sandwich ever…I have felt closest to death and closest to life while trekking these hills…and if that is not Nirvana, Nirvana might not be all that great.